Four new polio cases emerge in Pakistan

"The WHO says the virus strain of polio found in Pakistan has affected as many as five countries over the past two years, becoming a serious threat to other countries, the report said."

Islamabad, June 14 - Four more polio cases have emerged in Pakistan, taking the total number of cases reported in the country to 82 in the current year, an official said Saturday.

Elias Durry, Emergency coordinator of the WHO's polio eradication programme in Pakistan, said Saturday that two of the fresh cases were from Khyber Agency while the other two were from North Waziristan tribal agency, both in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region in north-western Pakistan, Dawnonline reported Saturday.

These (new cases) are children who have never been immunised before, and all belong to Pashtun areas, Durry said.

Last month, the WHO imposed restrictions on Pakistani travellers, saying they have to be administered anti-polio drops at airports before checking into immigration and cannot travel without the required certificate.

Pakistan stands among the last three polio endemic countries in the world, that also include Nigeria and Afghanistan.

The WHO says the virus strain of polio found in Pakistan has affected as many as five countries over the past two years, becoming a serious threat to other countries, the report said.

Of the total 82 polio cases this year, at least 61 have now been reported from the volatile FATA region, which has the highest burden of polio incidence.

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